Rail- joint



G. TAYLOR.

RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION FIL\ED APR. l1. 1919.

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Patented July 1, 1919.

G. TAYLOR.

RAIL JOINT.

N man APR 1,308,689. Patented July 1, 1919.

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' GEORGE TAYLOR, 0F ROXBOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-J OINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, l1919.

Application filed April 11, 1919. -Seria1No.289,186.

To all whom 'may concern:

Be it known that I, 4Gritoizen TAYLOR, asubat 7 300 Ridge avenue,Roxborough, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,have invented new andouseful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to railroads and it has more particular referenceto means for connecting together the meeting end sections of railroadrails and which are commonly known as rail joints.y

The main object ofthe invention is` the provision of a combined railjoint and chair which is novel in construction and in which is employeda pair of locking elementsy for `securing the abutting rail yends in`rigid alinement in relation to one another.

A further 1object of the `invention is the provision of a combinedjoining means and chair which permit of the longitudinal expansion ofthe rails under changing atmospheric conditions while at the same timeany fall when rolling stock is passing thereover is effectivelyprevented.

A' still vfurther object of the invention is the provision of a combinedrail joint and chair which .is of simple `and economical construction,few and readily assembled parts, and which can readily be applied to theextremities of the rails without the ne- Vcessity of forming holestherein, or which applied in the place of existing joining means whendamaged or requiring repair or renewal. With the foregoing may be easilyand other objects in view the'invention consists essentially in theFigure novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement ofparts hereinafter fully A described and more speci.lly pointed out in lthe appended claims.

In the further disclosure of the invention, reference is to be'had tothe accompanying sheets of explanatory drawings, constituting a pai-tofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference denote thesame or corresponding parts in all the views, and in Ath.tough fa 'rail`joint and chair disclosing a proved lrail joint 1- is .a Vverticalsectional view .p

rail applied thereto, and incorporating a preferred form of the presentinvention.

Fig. 2f is a top plan View of the iinand chair.

Fig. 3- is a side elevation looking to the left hand in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4lis a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4 4 in Fig'. 1,with the rail ends removed and looking to the left hand in said figure;and

.5- 's a fragmentary detail sectional view hereinafter more particularlyreferredto. Referring more particularly to the drawings the numeral 10,designates a fragmentary portion of a tie or the like upon which theimproved combined chair and joint, is adapted to be mounted.

The chair proper a, consists of a base 11, formed at that end thereofwhich is intended for disposition on the outside of the track with anenlargement 12, of the cross section shown clearly iii Fig. 1; that isto say it is extended upwardly and curves outwardly toward the end 13,of the base 11. The inner end of this enlargement 12 is formed with anundercut part 14, of a section which is adapted to receive one side 15,of the flanged base of a rail 16. Remote from and opposed to theenlargement 12, and at the other end of the base 11, there is formed anupwardly extending and inwardly inclined iiange or wall 17, betweenwhich and the web of the rail 16, there is disposed a slidable block orwedge 18. This block or wedge p formed as shown with a vertical `wall orface 19, adapted to bear against the Webs of the abutting rail ends, anopposed inclined Wall or face 20, of a taper to snugly and frictionallyengage the inner inclined face of the upwardly extending flange 17 abovereferred to, and a longitudinally disposed undercut part 21, of asection to i'it the other side 15, of the flanged base of. the rail 16.Longitudinal holes or apertures, 22, may also be formed in the block orwedge 18, for lightening purposes.

It is to be noted that the inner longitudinal upper face of the base 11,is formed at its edge adjoining the undercut 14, and at a oint aliningwith the outer edge of the side base of the rail 1 6, with 18, ispreferably 5% of the flanged slightly inclined depressions 23, so thatany tendency to rocking of the track will not disengagethe block orwedge 18.

In order to provide an effective and simple means for retaining theblock or wedge 18, firmly in place when the chair a, and rail ends areassembled I form a pocket 24, in the base l1, in which is seated astrong flat or leaf spring 25, that abuts the underside of said block orwedge 18, and forces the same upwardly so that the faces 19,20, thereofare constantly held in firm frictional locking engagement with theabutting web faces of' the rail ends and also the inner inclined face ofthe wall 17.

In some instances- I may also form a pocket 26, in the undercut part ofthe block or wedge 18 for the reception of a second flat or leaf spring27, which is prevented from longitudinal displacement by having its endsabut chisel cuts or indents 28, made in the base flanges l5a of theabutting rail ends, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

For the purpose of' effectively seating the chair a', after it has beenapplied to the rail ends and the block or wedge 18, driven into place, Iprovide a supporting plate 29, fashioned with a central depression 30,in which seats said chair a, and longitudinally extending up-steppedfianges 30', 30', which are formed with spaced enlargements 31, 31, ofthe same lsection and configuration as the enlargement 12, formed on thechair. A lip or upset liange 32, engages the outer edge 13 of the chaira, and a corresponding opposed lip or upset flange 33, is providedremote therefrom in the event it is necessary to reverse the position ofthe chair and dispose the block or wedge 18, on the outside of thetrack. Upset lugs 34, 34, are formed on the flanges 30, 30, at pointsconvenient to prevent any longitudinal displacement ofthe block or wedge18 as will be clearly understood on an examination of the Figs. 2 and 3,more particularly.

Spikes 35, serve to hold or secure the supporting plate 29, firmly onthe ties 10, while additional spikes 36, are also used to clamp thesides 15'r1 of the flanged bases of the rail ends 16 firmly in place andit is to be noted that these latter spikes arelocated in opposition -tothe enlargements 31, 31.

In use, the rail ends are engaged in the Vchair a, on the base 11, andagainst the enlargement 12, whereupon the spring 25, or

' springs 25, 27 are placed in position and the block or wedge 18inserted, which locks the chair in place. The supporting plate 29, isthen slipped under the chair a, from the outside of the track until theenlargements 3l, thereon abut the rail webs and the chair seated in thecentral depression 30, and between the lugs 34 whereupon the spikes 35,36, are driven and the rail joint is complete.

It lis to be noted that the enlargements 12,

31, are formed with shoulders for firm engagement against the underside37, of the ball of the rail 16, to serve as a support to' Vstrengthenthe same and to prevent the fiattening of the abutting rail endsincident to the pounding of the wheels which pass thereon.

V-Vhen vdesired provision can be readily made for the insertion ofinsulation between the chair a, and rails 16,- in order to insulate thetrack from said rails.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that by myinvention a very eective and readily applied rail joint and chair isprovided which is adapted for new or old rails, while it can be just aseasily employed in the case of a broken rail, in'asv much as thefractured ends can be brought together and securely held in placewithout drilling holes through the rail web.

Furthermore it will be readily seen that. the rails can expand andcontract and the chair a, and supporting plate are also fastened in amanner to the cross-ties that will perm-it of expansion and contractioncaused by the difference in temperature.

Obviously the length of the supporting plate and exterior configurationof the parts will be dependent upon service conditions, and while I havedescribed and shown one practical Aembodiment of my invention, I wish itclearly understood that various slight changes may be made in theydetails of construction without departing from the general spirit of'said invention the scope whereof is defined fby the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim,-

1. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails of a chair having anundercut enlargement at one side and an inwardly in- 105 clined opposedwall at the other side, an undercut block adapted to fit between theinwardly inclined wall and the web of the abutting rail ends, means forforcing said block Vupwardly into locking position, and a 110 supportingelement for the chair having spaced enlargements adapted to aline withthe enlargement on the chair.

2. In a rail joint the combination with the rails, of a chair having anundercut en- 115 largement at one side and an inwardly inclined opposedwall at the other side, an undercut block adapted to lit between theinwardly inclined wall and engage the webs of abutting rail ends, aspring seated in a 120 recess in the chair base and adapted to force theundercut block upwardly into locking position, and a supporting elementfor the chair having upset longitudinal flanges and spaced enlargementsadapted to aline with 125 the enlargement on the chair.

3. In a rail joint the combination with the rails, of a chair having anundercut end largement at one side and an inwardly in clined, opposedwall. at the other eide, an una l@ dercut, block adapted to fit betweenthe in- W'ztrdly inclined Wall and engage the Webs of abutting railends, a spring seated in a recess in the chair base and zt supplementaryspring seated 'beneath the undercut portion of the aforesaid block saidsprings being adapted to force the block into locking position, asupporting element for the cha-i1' having upset longitudinal flanges andspaced enlargements adapted to aline with the enlargement on the chair,and means for preventing the longitudinal displacement of the undercutblock when the parts are assembled.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

. GEORGE TAYLOR.

Copies of this patent may ha obtained for ve cents each,rby addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

